Best. Exercise. Ever.

Now I have said it several times and I will say it again - there is no single exercise just like there is no one meal plan that works best for everyone and it's absurd to think that a "one size fits all" approach would be feasible for people with different body types and goals...so I preface my tip with the notion that certain types of exercises generally yield the best results when it comes to fat burning and muscle building.

So what exercises am I referring to exactly? Compound movements. Simply put - a compound, also know as complex exercise is a multi-joint movement that recruits large portions of the body or more muscles to complete the exercise, compared to simple or isolation movements that involve fewer muscles. The more muscles you use to perform an exercise the more calories you burn, the higher intensity the workout, the better you perform and the more you are able to strengthen those various muscles due to the increased stimulation of muscle fibers.

For example: if you used the leg extension machine, which is an isolated movement, you are simply moving the weight in a seated position using your knee joint and working your quads. and aren't really involving other any muscles. There isn't much involvement, if any, from other muscles and it doesn't burn very many calories.

Now let's look at the walking lunge (with or without weights). You start by standing with your feet together - holding dumbbells, a barbell or medicine ball if you choose to do them weighted, - you step forward and lower your back knee then push off your front foot and pull your back leg forward, repeating the movement. How many muscles did you utilize while performing the lunge? Probably too many to count. You certainly work your quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, abdominals, supporting muscles in your shoulders, arms and back—just to name a few. You also raised your heart rate and kicked your metabolism into high gear. That's a great leg exercise in comparison if you ask me.

Examples of other great compound movements are: bench press, overhead shoulder press, rows, pull-ups, deadlift and squat - basically, if an exercise involves pushing, pulling, squatting or deadlifting, it's usually training more than one major muscle group, and that makes it a compound exercise. Now compare that with bicep curls, tricep extensions, lateral raises and chest flyes which are all isolation movements.

Don't get me wrong, I am not telling you to throw isolated exercises out the window, they serve a particular purpose and any exercise is better than no exercise but I'm sure you agree that compound movements give you more overall benefits by comparison.

Of course, there is more involved to achieving your fitness goals. You need to take control of your eating habits and to get your diet dialed in. If you need help getting a workout and nutrition plan together head over to teamfirforduty.com and check out the plans we have available by our teach of trainers.